Arabian Nights
by MarcellusMiro66
Summary: Preston writes a decent enough play with Max and Nikki as the leads, which makes sense seeing as he has a crush on her for some time. However, reality soon paves way for fantasy, when a wisecracking wish-granting spirit (and NOT a genie) shows up to help Max win Nikki's heart...and simultaneously rip off a certain Disney film in the process... (Makki, Max x Nikki)


"All night, everybody! Get your shit together!"

Max was beginning to rethink his life choices that led him to choose to star in Preston's new play. It was sometime after they won back the camp from Camp Corp that the theatre nerd came up with the "brilliant" idea to host a brand new production of...well, whatever this play was supposed to be about. Apparently, the prima donna director's signature knack for unoriginality was in full force here, as this screenplay blatantly ripped off elements of far superior action/adventure/fantasy movies including (but not limited to) **_Aladdin_**, **_Star Wars_**, and, oddly enough, **_Superman_**. He wasn't that much of a cinema buff, but from what he could tell, he could also spot some similarities among **_The Thief Of Bagdad_**, **_The African Queen_**, and **_The Man Who Would Be King_**. Shaking his head and trying to process what he just did, he then tried to process the play's premise: a handsome and quick-witted young beggar (who was a POC to boot) falls in love with a beautiful and spirited young princess, attempting to win her heart with the help of his comic relief best friend and a throwback, if not downright Broadway-style, soundtrack. Yeah, not exactly innovative in terms of plot and characterization, but he and the rest of the hapless cast/crew would have to make do with the material they were given.

In what proved to a rather infamous case of typecasting, the Indian-American Max was cast in the lead while the highly energetic Nikki was cast as his love interest. These particular casting choices made him internally shudder, as he withheld a crush on the self-proclaimed agent of chaos for some time now. Now, he didn't believe in love at first sight. In fact, the first glimpse of the girl who would eventually become his female best friend effectively creeped him out to the fullest. It would take him, himself, and time to get used to her presence and accept her for what she was and what she stood for. Honestly, he could count the number of times where their friendship was the highlight of their day. A specific day stood out, though; the day where the campers were paired off into literal pairs in order to act as parental figures towards a given egg was one that he would never forget.

Anyway, the rest of the roles were filled out by Gwen as the protagonist's mother, Candy and Carl as the King and Queen of the unspecified kingdom, Campbell as the royal adviser, David as the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the rest of the campers from all three sides of Lake Lilac as background characters and/or understudies. He felt shitting himself because he was the central character of the piece and, therefore, the one thing holding this thing together and keeping it (as well as himself) from falling apart. He wished that he didn't have to take the play seriously, but he had to for his and his fellow campers' own good.

Max was in the process of reading his lines when he noticed two things a few days before the play's premiere. 1) He had to **_sing_** a majority of his lines, and 2) a trio of knives were sent flying his way. Eliciting an uncharacteristic yelp of fright, he ducked just in time for the blades to embed themselves into an unfortunate camper. Pushing himself to see that the knives had stabbed poor, poor Scotty albeit non-fatally, he began pulling the knives out before turning toward the source of the hurled cutting tools.

"You weren't supposed to yelp, Max," Nurf complained.

"Damn it, Nurf! What the hell are you doing?" Max pulled a twitching Scotty up before bringing him into the spotlight, "You hit Scotty!"

"Well, I'm sorry!" Nurf continued as he spun his switchblade, "Preston told me to train as my part as a member of the Royal Guard!"

_"You? A member of the __**Royal Guard**__?"_

"At least that's what was implied. He cast me in what he told me was an action-packed role, so I assumed it was one of the Royal Guard. Why? Is that a problem?"

"Uh, no, actually. Taking you into consideration, I think it's an inspired casting choice. I just wouldn't get your hopes up, though."

"Thanks, Max."

Meanwhile, David was straightening out his navy blue uniform with blue epaulettes while reading his script laid out on the table that contained a sword, a tray of freshly baked apple pie, and a Remington 870 shotgun surrounded by two boxes of shotgun shells...for whatever reason. Carefully observing his parts and the role he was playing (it's worth mentioning that this involved swordsmanship, a venture that he wasn't adept at), there was one thing that he didn't quite get.

"Um, Preston? If I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, I'm supposed to be of Arab descent, right?"

"Wrong, David," the playwright handed Harrison and Nerris their respective costumes as he explained to the skeptical camp counselor, "If you were to be of Arab descent, then brownface would've been required for the role, which I'm attempting to avoid for you and the rest of the camp. After all, I never specified that the play took place in Agrabah."

"Doesn't Agrabah exist in India, Preston?" Gwen snarked.

"Actually, it's located in Arabia," Neil corrected as he slipped into his costume, "Specifically near the Jordan River in the Middle East. And no, India doesn't prove your point because it is a _South Asian_ country instead of Middle Eastern."

"No one gives a shit at the moment!" Max interrupted as he marched towards Preston with a blaze in his step and a scowl on his face. "Preston, I know that I noticed this fact already and never got the chance to voice my opinion on it, but...why the hell am I singing?"

That question alone got the attention of many a camper and/or counselor, leaving them in utter bewilderment. Nikki in particular fought back a heavy luminescent blush as the thought never occurred to her. The idea of the most cynical and deadpan person in the entire campground singing his heart seemed undeniably foreign to them. Preston was seemingly counting on this, however, judging by his Cheshire Cat grin growing on his ever-so-smug-looking face.

"Why, Max... I thought you'd never ask. The idea of the most cynical and deadpan person in the entire campground turning on a dime and singing the very essence of his soul out was one that I considered bringing to life, but I was never granted the proper opportunity to do so...until now."

_Ugh, you piece of shit..._ Max shot him a scowl.

"Besides, I couldn't help but overhear your own small but relevant dosage of singing during our Christmas special."

Like Nikki before, Max fought hard to hold back the luminescent blush that would accompany beats of embarrassment as he mentally cursed himself for forgetting. "W-Wha? That was _one_ line!"

"One line full of poise, promise, and potential!... If somewhat lacking in patience."

"So, one line that I sang for a stupid-ass Christmas song for a stupid-ass Christmas special was enough to convince yourself to cast me as the stupid-ass lead for your stupid-ass play?"

Preston thought it over for a moment before that equally stupid-ass manic grin returned with a vengeance, "Apparently."

Max's right eye twitched before he face-palmed himself. _I'm going to die of embarrassment and regret._

"Ah, chin up, Max. You'll do fine."

"Oh, sure. You say that now..."

Meanwhile, Nikki had snuck away from the scene and elicited her luminescent blush. _Max is going to sing...?_

* * *

Later on, Max read the songs printed out for him. Most of the songs were either lovey-dovey or thought-provoking, subjects he wasn't quite adept at just yet. The supposedly street-smart thief he was playing, on the other hand, was, and possibly more. In fact, he was the completely antithesis of a boy his age. The thief was likable, sympathetic, and willing to admit his own faults and learn from them, whereas he himself was vice versa: _un_likable, _un_sympathetic, and _un_willing to admit his own faults and learn from them. Of course, this was only slightly far-fetched; he was well on his way towards opening up, but there were no shortage of baby steps.

He would need to overcome them by the premiere.

Skimming through one of his songs and its accompanying reprise, he quickly deduced that the primary "I Want" song was basically its way of setting the street thief he was portraying as clever as he was compassionate. He went on ahead and saw that there was only 29 words in his reprise, which he also deduced that it was about said street thief reflecting on his life thus far and doubting if there was a better future for him. _Kinda like me..._

**_("One Jump Ahead" [Reprise] – Brad Kane)_**

**_Riff-raff, street rat   
I don't buy that  
If only they'd look closer...  
_**

_**Would they see a poor boy?**  
**No siree, they'd find out**  
**There's so much more to me...**  
_

_. . ._

_. . ._

_. . ._

_Wait, did I just sing a song? _

_. . ._

_Did I just subconsciously sing a song?_

"Wow, Max."

Max jumped in fright and rapidly turned around to find Nikki standing outside holding up the flap, her script in hand.

"Nikki? What are you doing here?"

"Preston told me to check up on you while he oversaw the amphitheater. I didn't know you could sing."

_. . ._

_Huh, I guess it wasn't all subconscious as I thought._

"Ok, so? What's it to you?"

"Nothing, actually. It's just that..."

Noticing Nikki's hesitation, he began to wonder. _Is she...having trouble giving me a compliment?_

"I think it's nice. Your singing, I mean."

_I thought so..._

"Thanks, Nikki."

"It's probably why he cast you as the lead, huh?"

"I always figured that Preston was a narcissistic prima donna from the very start, but casting me as the lead in his impending doom of a play will be his downfall."

"Or his _uprising_. I wasn't lying when I said you were a good singer."

"I know you weren't, but I honestly don't give a shit about this production. I'm probably just gonna half-ass it."

"At least you're making an effort."

"Well, it's same to assume nobody else will besides you."

"Thanks, Max."

_. . . _

"It's probably why they cast me as the love interest too, huh?"

"... Sure."

_. . ._

"Alright. Well, I'll let you be, then. See you, Max."

"See you, Nikki."

As Max and Nikki finished their conversation, they both drew a collective sigh of relief. _Man, what a painfully awkward conversation..._ was their simultaneous thought as they left each other to their own devices. Reading their respective scripts (Max's lines equaled blue, Nikki's equaled green, and their shares equaled yellow), their eyes widened in shock upon catching notice of the duet they would have to inevitably sing together.

_…but we would take the awkward conversation over the embarrassing duet any day._

* * *

By the time dinner rolled around, any conversation in general was limited to the play and nothing else.

"Alright, kiddos! Preston has another announcement to make!"

The campers turned from their meals and towards the self-proclaimed thespian standing beside an excited David and an unexcited Gwen.

"Campers of Camp Campbell, it has come to my attention that the members of my cast and crew are awfully short."

"Pardon. _Your_ cast and crew?" Harrison practiced his magic tricks.

"That's right. That's why I decided to call in a few more extras."

"Why do I get the feeling that these extras are the Wood Scouts and the Flower Scouts?" Gwen vocalized the other campers' concerns.

"They're the only ones who are in this area; besides, the acting chops of Tabii are completely up for snuff."

"And it's a great way of saving money for the camp," Cameron Campbell smiled in pride.

"Do you mind, sir?"

"Well, I smell sabotage! And I say we return the favor!" Nerris proudly declared, followed by the enthusiastic cries of every camper save for Neil, Nikki, and Max.

"Considering that the play is a few weeks or so, I doubt sabotage would be the wisest move. Besides, that sounds like something Max would say." Looking around the mess hall, Neil's eyebrows shot up in realization. "Where is he, by the way?"

Max himself was still holed up in his tent, reading over his script and making any changes he saw fit with the intent of handing it over to Preston. He didn't want to admit it personally, but he had surprisingly gotten invested to the story in a matter of hours, an incredibly slow process to him. Figuring that the play was "so okay it's average" and worth saving at the cost of a few creative differences, he gave his script a few tweaks that gave equal focus on the two main characters and the supporting cast, in addition to making the play a full-blown jukebox musical. It would seem his secret affinity for theater was shining through...or was it his crush for Nikki?

Adding the finishing touches, Max smirked in triumph and marched over to the counselors' cabin, where the printer was residing. While he waited for 30 scripts to print out (the other 20 were spares), boredom eventually took over before he found David's phone. _Pfft. Dumbass. He needs to learn to keep his phone on his person at all times...because shit like this will happen._ Taking it up and checking for service (fist-pumping in success when he found some bars), he immediately went on YouTube to search for the songs he was required to sing, solo or duet.

_. . ._

_Four songs. I am required to sing four songs..._

_…and share a kiss or two with Nikki in one of them._

_. . ._

_Oh, yeah. This is worse than I thought._

_I'd definitely take the awkward conversation over the embarrassing duet any day._

_. . ._

_Well, better get started._

He clicked the first song and did just that.

* * *

_**A/N**: Finally, I can work on my stories and publish at least one! Just in time for college, too..._

_Sorry for the long absence. I was a week-long trip from Atlanta to Washington, DC with (for the most part) no wi-fi whatsoever. However, it's given me some time to work out the kinks in my new story for **Camp Camp** that blends action-adventure epic, romantic musical fantasy, and self-referential social commentary. This story was actually written two months ago in the early days of June, and the huge success of the live-action **Aladdin** remake combined with the premiere of **Descendants 3** two weeks ago may have to do something with it being finally published. That said, I have a lot to get off my chest._

_(BTW, **Rest In Peace Cameron**. You May Be **Gone**, But You Are **Not Forgotten**. Not By A Long Shot...)_


End file.
